Israeli Soldier Places Cigarette on Virgin Mary Statue in Debel, IDF Investigates

An Israeli soldier was photographed placing a cigarette on the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Christian village of Debel in southern Lebanon, prompting an IDF investigation after the photo circulated on social media.

“20:31 02:05 02:51 01:07 01:02 00:45 01:46 03:31 17:49 05:39 23:17 05:09 20 Minutes with AFP Published on May 7, 2026 at 14:26 • Updated on May 7, 2026 at 14:29 The photo shows an Israeli army soldier in camouflage, a cigarette in his mouth, as he places a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon”

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The BBC said the picture was “taken in the Christian village of Debel,” where Israeli soldiers were photographed last month hitting a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer.

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The IDF said it identified the soldier and that command measures would follow the investigation’s findings, while Reuters-style casualty reporting was not part of the incident described in the sources.

CNN also tied the new photo to the same town where Israeli soldiers were photographed destroying a crucifix last month, framing it as part of a recurring pattern in Debel.

Multiple outlets quoted the IDF’s stance that the soldier’s conduct deviates from expected troop values, with Euronews saying the military “views the incident with utmost severity.”

In the BBC account, an IDF spokesperson said the conduct “completely deviates from the values expected of its personnel,” and Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said the photograph was taken several weeks ago.

Al Jazeera

The Roman Catholic Church’s representative in the Holy Land, quoted via Haaretz, condemned the act as “This is disrespectful and outrageous behaviour that must stop immediately,” and called for the Israeli government and IDF to send “a clear message that such behaviour is unacceptable.”

The Times of Israel reported that after identifying the soldier, the IDF said he “will be disciplined,” and it described the incident as joining “several other occurrences” involving soldiers destroying or looting property.

The incident in Debel was presented by the sources as connected to earlier actions involving Christian religious symbols in the same area, including the April case in which the IDF removed two soldiers from combat duty and sentenced them to 30 days in military prison.

“Toggle Play Israeli soldier caught desecrating statue of Virgin Mary in Lebanon Outrage is growing over a photo of an Israeli soldier pushing a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon”

Al Jazeera

The BBC reported that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into force on 16 April but “failed to stop the war between Israel and the Shia Muslim armed group Hezbollah,” with Israeli strikes continuing daily in southern Lebanon.

It also said that on Wednesday night an Israeli air strike hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire began, and that the IDF said the attack in Dahieh killed the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, Ahmed Ali Balout.

In parallel, CNN Arabic said the Israeli army was investigating the Virgin Mary desecration in Debel, “the same town where Israeli soldiers were photographed last month destroying a cross,” while Middle East Eye described Debel as a Maronite Christian village about six kilometres northwest of Ain Ebel and roughly five kilometres from the Israeli border community of Shtula.